Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Pantry Redo (and space and time and relativity)


I live two lives.  In one life my house is neat and clean and organized, time is ample and I get dressed before I take the kids to school.  In my other life the house is chaotic, time is harried and I most definitely stay in pajamas for my morning commute.  Guess which life is real and which is fantasy.

A while back I was listening to NPR and they were discussing the very real possibility of parallel universes.  Not just parallel universes but identical universes; places filled with the same people doing the same things.   It's mind boggling to say the least.  I'd like to think my universal doppelganger is living my fantasy life -- the one I'm *supposed* to be living.  And my ultimate goal is to switch lives with this doppelganger.  I wonder if I clean my kitchen does hers become messy?  Are our actions related like Dorian's picture in the attic?  But I digress.

Yesterday a small crack broke between these parallel universes; I organized my pantry and spice cabinet.   Let me tell you  -- it is a thing of beauty.  I was inspired by this pantry but knew time was limited (the crack didn't open that far dagnamit).  This meant no painting for me (though I LOVE her walls).  Rather I found some stickers from Target for $9.95 to give my pantry a little extra punch.  I used jars and boxes that we had laying around.





One advantage to having a husband who is a junker?  Lots of fodder about when a project is at hand.  So, yes, we had vintage canisters and crates just waiting for this purpose.  It's hard to see in the photos but the big ball jars are a gorgeous blue.  I simply adore them.  Ah the little things.

The front of the pantry was already painted with chalkboard paint.  This was done several months ago after seeing (and loving) my friend Kim's pantry (hello Kim!  I'm waving at you!).  We still had "Merry Christmas" written across the front in a child's hand.  That ought to tell you the state of my kitchen.  Anyway I updated the chalk drawing and then tackled the inside.


After I was done there I was so happy and couldn't help but move on to the spice cabinet.  


And now my kitchen is neat, clean and organized.  I only feel a little sorry for my doppelganger and the mess she had to wake up to this morning.  But hey -- at least she's dressed for I am still firmly pajama clad.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll leave her in her pajamas too.  

xo.  

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks wonderful! One of my frequent fantasies here: the big, well-organized pantry and spice rack. Room for everything without crowding, lovely jars out in the open... ah. Adding it to my "next house" list. :o)

My favorite is probably the crate that says EXPLOSIVES. "Don't mess with this mama's pantry." Hee!

Shalet said...

The explosives crate is our alcohol -- a fitting box, I thought, for storage. :o)

Val @ Mental Chew said...

Nice! I love the door. In my former life (pre-kids) I was SOOOO OCD about all things. Now. Sheesh. Who knew these little rugrats that we adore could turn our lives into utter chaos and we would love it. Cheers to our dopplegangers in the parallel world, I have to go scrape a path to the kitchen.

Shalet said...

I am slowly trying to trade places with that doppleganger but suspect it will be a life long battle. I hope you found your kitchen!